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The Instance
The Instance is a weekly award-winning World of Warcraft podcast started in 2006 on January 7th by Scott Johnson and then-ExtraLife Radio host Andrew Konietzky from Cranial Jacks & Converse, both of whom noticed a lack of podcasts dedicated to the MMO. The show is dedicated to news and rumors about the game, and relies heavily on listener contribution. An early contributor, Randy "RandyDeluxe" Jordan, joined the podcast as a third seat on show 45, and eventually became second seat when Konietzky left the show in 2007. RandyDeluxe was a part of the show (and also became a regular guest on ExtraLife Radio, and a co-host on the popular Film Sack podcast) until a job opportunity at Blizzard Entertainment (the company which makes World of Warcraft) required him to retire his position. Episode #217: "Now I've Gotta Go..." was Jordan's final show, and was dedicated to him. Jordan's replacements were Mark "Turpster" Turpin (a former guest and friend of the show) and William "Dills" Gregory (a member and raider in the Instance guild, alea iacta est). In 2008, The Instance won the Bloggers Choice Award for Best Podcast and The Podcast Awards Best Gaming Podcast, beating out nine other finalists, none of which were World Of Warcraft-related. Show Sections The Instance is divided into different sections. They are typically in the same order: Big News of the Week This covers breaking news related to WoW, Blizzard or the MMORPG game space. Rumors and Scuttlebutt Scott and Randy talk about WoW-related, and sometimes completely unrelated rumors, predictions and analysis. Town Cryer The hosts refer to their e-mail and answering machine to play phone calls, read e-mails and ask one another series of "Quickfire Questions". Drop of the Week An external site, movie, WoW-related product or addons is highlighted. The main body of the show is followed by an exit segment comprised of calls, recordings, comedy bits and songs that the hosts receive each week. Regular Contributors and Topics Edit The podcast features regular contributors who add information and entertainment to the show. Curt Schilling (Retired) Mr. Schilling has made regular appearances on The Instance since his interview in episode #102 - “The Curt Schilling Episode”. As an unofficial "third-chair", Mr. Schilling contributes to the topics of discussion drawing from his personal experience as a WoW and EQ gamer, and a MMO developer. Patrick from France (Retired) Patrick Beja's regular segment is called the"Mod Tip of the Week" and usually consists of a description of an AddOn, including who the mod is useful for, why Patrick likes it and where you can find the mod. At Blizzcon in 2007, 2008, and 2009, Patrick met up with The Instance listeners. At Blizzcon in 2008, Patrick was joined by Randy in interviewing such Blizzard luminaries as Mike Morhaime, Jeff Kaplan, and Russell Brower. Randy regularly jokes that the show has since had a "special relationship" with Russell Brower, making it difficult for Mr. Brower to appear on the show, unless Scott can come up with something non-WoW-related to talk about. Patrick has also appeared on several episodes as "third-chair", and done standalone interviews for the show. Patrick announced on the Instance 160 , that he is leaving due to acquiring a job with Blizzard, and thus didn't want to create a conflict of interest. Shawn Basic (Retired) Shawn "Shawn Basic" Coons provided submissions for newbies featured in many episodes during 2006-2007, which captured basic information and tips for lower level and casual players of the game. Shawn left the show after Episode 56, returning to guest host Episodes 70 and 100. Darrell the Tip Giver Starting in late 2007, Darrell's submission to The Instance was the Tip Givers' Tip of the Week (TGTOTW), a comedy spot that was the first bit played after the hosts sign-off. Originally a tongue-in-cheek series of suggestions for all those wishing to submit tips to the show, TGTOTW grew to become many listeners' favorite part of the show, with both comedy and advice for anyone aspiring to create tips, or do a podcast of their own. Darrell the Tip Giver has also done a mash up of clips from the previous episode to form something that often has a completely different meaning than what was said in the episode. This first started in episode 137 and continued through 182 when the birth of his daughter greatly diminished his editing time. All mashups done after 182 were done by other contributors. Buxley Steve Pietrowicz has been contributing as the character "Buxley" in the "Ask Buxley" comedy segment since Episode #116. Buxley explains things that happen in the World of Warcraft universe according to his own view of the world, which has very little to do with what's really going on. It does make sense to him though. Buxley is a level 80 Tauren Shaman and is a proud member of Alea Iacta Est. Alea Iacta Est A regular returning item that usually appears in Rumors and Scuttlebutt (but not exclusively) is news or updates concerning the Alea Iacta Est (AIE) guild on the US-Earthen Ring server. Alea Iacta Est was formed as a companion guild to The Instance and Extralife Radio and was announced on February 13th, 20076. The phrase "Alea Iacta Est" means "the die has been cast", and is in reference to what Caesar supposedly said as he crossed the Rubicon in northern Italy in 49 B.C. A more detailed discussion can be found here. The most prominent mention of AIE on The Instance was on episode 74b: "Rest In Peace, Bruce Galloway"in which AIE members and Instance listeners made a special tribute to AIE member Bruce Galloway (aka Milliway) who passed away on August 2nd, 2007. Episodes 239 – The Instance: Auction Shmauction 238 – The Instance: WoW made me do it 237 – The Instance: How to bake a jacket potato 236 – The Instance: When Thrall Leaves His Tiny Tower 235 – The Instance: The lady with two voice actors 234 – The Instance: The Chinese WoW Time Machine 233 – The Instance: Let’s get Legendary all up in here, yo! 232 – The Instance: Doing the funky eagle 231 – The Instance: One star for the kids 230 – The Instance: You get what you pay for 229 – The Instance: The Epic…Stash? 228 – The Instance: The Dungeon Diary 227 – The Instance: The lands, they be on fire! 226 – The Instance: Blizzard’s Warcrafty Year 225 – The Instance: Quite the achievement 224 – The Instance: In the shadow of the fat man 223 – The Instance: Transparent 222 – The Instance: Pastor and Cake 221 – The Instance: We demand a Meat Quiver 220 – The Instance: In The Nightmare 219 – The Instance: The Savage Lava Dong 218 – The Instance: Lady Asswhisperer 217 – The Instance: Now I’ve Gotta Go 216 – The Instance: Beard Balancing 215 – The Instance: Patchy Patch McPatch Patch 214 – The Instance: Blackrock Whatever It’s Called 213 – The Instance: Teddy Roosevelt Was An Orc 212a – The Instance:The Jeff Cannata Tapes 212 – The Instance: Shattering of the Over Pants 211 – The Instance: Orgrimmar’s Back Door 210 – The Instance: Got A Bad Case Of The Shattering 209 – The Instance: Don’t Show Us How The Sausage Is Made 208 – The Instance: Wrath of the Triple Rainbow 207 – The Instance: Deathwing is from New York 206 – The Instance: Shadow Word: Deathspam Is A Cooked Food 205 – The Instance: Harry Johnson Meets Peter Li 204 – The Instance: QQ Spreads Disease With Your Mobile Phone 203 – The Instance: We Named The Dwarf Indiana 202 – The Instance: Your Dog Thinks You Taste Like Twitter 201 – The Instance: Mixed Martial Sippy Cup Parasailin’ 200 – The Instance: The BiPodCentennial 199 – The Instance: Deathwang 198 – The Instance: Hide Ya Kids! Hide Ya Wife! 197 – The Instance: Second Breakfast 196 – The Instance: The Rage! It Burns Us, Precious! 195 – The Instance: 195 – Wanna Touch My Beta? 194 – The Instance: Plate, Plate, Plate 193 – The Instance: Remember The Path Of The Titans 192 – The Instance: I’m Just Going To Call It Kalimuhdor. Deal With It. 191 – The Instance:The Ruby Sanctum Has No Eye 190 – The Instance: One Naked Wolf Lady Coming Right Up 189 – The Instance: Pee Shivers Category:Podcasts